Congratulations Phantom4ever on seeing Barbour. Lucky you! He's one of the greatest singers in the world in my book.
I have always thought of Norm as having simply a fabulous singing voice, clear as a church bell, but I came to the revelation that it was his acting that was going to win everybody's heart in this role. I think baritones often offer a timbre that is sensuous, commanding and mature, and everything else you could want for the phantom's temperament, yet while the phantom does overlap with their range, Javert came easier to a Norm Lewis and Earl Carpenter, as Count von Grolock did for a Steve Barton and a Judge Turpin for Timothy Nolen. Still I adore Norm, he has a lot of natural beauty in his voice, even if this is getting towards the top of his vocal range, and plenty of charisma to make it worth the while, I am sad I missed history in the making and never got to see him.
My instinct was that Barbour would sing it better, his head voice is legendary, but I would like to hear more of him in the role before I call this one. I like both of their voices. I'm expecting a great deal from Barbour however as an actor also. Norm played the role passionately with perhaps a more childlike interpretation, I think Barbour will cook up something darker yet more restrained. I think of Norm's acting as good, but think of Barbour's as very good. As the plot thickens I believe we're going to remember Barbour's acting as much as his voice.
Updated On: 3/10/15 at 02:28 AM